The present invention relates to absorbent products which are worn in the crotch portion of a user""s undergarment which have conforming means to allow the absorbent product to be deformed to intimately contact a user""s body. Such products are useful as sanitary napkins, panty liners, adult incontinence pads, and the like.
Absorbent products such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, adult incontinence pads, and the like, are designed to be worn between a user""s body and a relatively close fitting garment such as an undergarment. Such absorbent products are often secured within the undergarment by means of adhesives, generally pressure sensitive adhesives. Recent attempts to avoid adhesives have employed bendable elements, such as metal plates, bars, and the like. These bendable elements are typically single pieces of metal which are generally more rigid than the absorbent body with which they are associated.
Examples of such products include U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,422, which discloses semi-rigid clip means to wrap around an undergarment; EP 446 818, which discloses a hinged clasp comprising two relatively stiff portions to permit bending of one portion with respect to the other portion; EP 467 184, which discloses the use of bendable elements which may be deformed by the user and which will retain its shape during use; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,886,513 and 4,865,597, which disclose a flexibly stiff, springy, reinforcing member that will maintain the shape of an absorbent pad, even after deformation.
These references attempt to provide a predetermined form to the absorbent product and/or to tenaciously grasp a user""s garment. The products disclosed generally display significant resistance to additional movement once formed to a desired configuration before use.
Relatively rigid bendable plates or bars are used in these products. The user is likely to be aware of the rigidity of the absorbent products during use, and the preformed nature of the products will reduce the ability of the product to closely conform to the user""s body. These references do not teach increased conformity with body surfaces.
Therefore, what is needed is an absorbent product having superior conformability to a user""s body. Superior conformability increases leakage protection, reduces the need for tenacious positioning means to anchor the product in place during use, and increases the comfort for the user.
The body-conforming absorbent products of this invention are useful for wearing in the crotch portion of a user""s undergarment. The product has an absorbent structure disposed between a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface. The product also has conforming means including an association of conformable segments. The conforming means allows the absorbent product to acquire and maintain a form corresponding to a user""s body surface contours by the action of forces normally exerted upon the absorbent product during use. The garment-facing surface may also have positioning means in order to reduce the movement of the absorbent product within the crotch portion.
Preferably, the conformable means has a Thwing-Albert bending strength of about 1 to about 250 g. At least some of the conforming segments may be disposed transverse to a length dimension of the absorbent product, and in a particularly preferred embodiment, the transverse conforming segments extend in to a tab portion of the product which can be wrapped around at least a portion of the crotch portion of the undergarment.
Additionally, the positioning means associated with the garment-facing surface is preferably a high-friction surface, such as a polymeric foam. The high-friction surface reduces the movement of the product within the undergarment during use.